Feedback: Would increasing the minimum wage help or hurt our country?

Dec. 21, 2013

Thousands of fast-food workers and their supporters have been staging protests across the country to call attention to the struggles of living on or close to the federal minimum wage. / Associatd Press/Nick Ut

A column that ran on Sunday by Los Angeles Times commentator David Horsey supporting an increase in the minimum wage drew a lot of criticism. Here’s what readers had to say:

David Horsey may be a Pulitzer Prize-winner, however, it is apparent he has never owned or managed a small business. Most small businesses today are having a difficult time maintaining a profit.

Raising the minimum wage to more than $10 an hour would have an inflationary effect on senior citizens and the middle class. It would force most small businesses to raise the price of their goods and services. In turn, it would limit the buying power of the majority of our country’s population.

I believe most small-business owners are as upset as Mr. Horsey with CEOs and Wall Street. However, going after small-business owners, who invested their own capital, and the middle class, who will have to use more of their discretionary income, is not the answer.

Janice Rotole Anderson

Grosse Pointe

Want to spread prosperity? David Horsey says, “Raise the minimum wage!” I say reinstitute the draft and make military service compulsory. Train inductees in useful trades and make them literate. Pay inductees decent wages and provide incentives for further development when they are discharged.

James D. Gohl

Dearborn

Raising the minimum wage is an indirect tax that disproportionately falls on low-income consumers who pay higher prices for goods and services, while marginal employees — mostly the young and unskilled — are laid off or not hired. If a wage of $15 an hour is implemented, how long will it be before we have automated vending at McDonald’s? Oh, far-fetched you think? Ask the auto workers replaced by robots. Raising the minimum wage is a regressive tax on the vulnerable people it is intended to help. So, Mr. Horsey, be careful what you ask for.

Victor St. Amand

Midland

Forcing redistribution of wealth has never worked and never will because when you take away the incentive to make money, investment stops and the rich horde money.

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A living wage is an admirable goal, but difficult to apply in the fast food industry, which is price sensitive. Manufacturing jobs have moved to China and other Asian countries with significantly lower wages. Manufacturing has traditionally provided better-paying jobs. The retail and service industry jobs have typically been low-paying jobs. There are reasons for that.

David Nosotti

Via Freep.com

An increase in the minimum wage raises all boats, increases consumer spending and feeds the economy. Most people are willing to pay a few cents more for their Big Mac.

Catherine Malick Ploughman

Via Freep.com

We need to change the way we pay for public education. There is a direct relationship between education and inequality. In the past, education was less of a necessity. Here in the Midwest, you could work in an auto plant without graduating from high school and earn a solid middle-class living with health insurance and a pension. Things have changed. Education levels have much to do with what one earns, and the way we fund primary and secondary education in this state is biased against the poor. Change the way we fund education and then remove minimum wage laws.